It's now or never for the men's and women's Black Sticks as they look to qualify for the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris at a last-chance tournament.
The women open their tournament overnight in India, while the men are in the pitch in the Middle East.
Only the top three out of eight competing teams will progress, with Black Sticks defender Blair Tarrant telling 1News the boys in black are up for the challenge.
"We can be scared of the pressure, or we can embrace the pressure," said Tarrant.
"I think this group is getting to that point where we really want to walk forward and give it a good crack."
Their opening match on Tuesday against Chile holds extra significance with three Otago players notching up milestone matches.
Kane Russell will play his 200th match for New Zealand, while Tarrant and Hugo Inglis rack up their 250th.
"It is pretty crazy," Russell said.
"The weirdest thing is we all bring up our milestones in the same match.
"I don't know how that's happened but it has and it's pretty awesome."
The feat is especially profound when considering they've played 20 years of hockey together, from the streets of Dunedin to hockey's biggest stage.
They’ve each pursued world-class careers and achieved them together.
“It's a bit like an old marriage," said Inglis.
"We chip at each other and know each other well enough to get under each other’s skin, so I think it's still like a lot of good battles on the training turf!"
No one is more familiar with that rivalry than long-time coach Dave Ross.
"I asked the boys 'who wants to play for New Zealand?' and funnily enough, all those boys put their hand up," Ross said.
"They didn't just talk it – they actually went out there and trained and trained and trained.
"They'd come home and they'd be bloodied and they'd be bashed and crashed, and it was great!"
Those battles perhaps preparing them for their greatest yet in Oman.
"The main thing that we are always talking about is the moment isn't that important," Inglis said.
"The tournament is important to us. The moment is cool but what's important is that we get the job done."
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